Astrid and the Avengers
by HogwartsScribbler
Summary: Sequel to Astrid, follows her and Loki during the Avengers timeline. LokiXOC
1. Chapter 1

Astrid stood on the edge of the still broken Rainbow Bridge. Six months had passed since losing Loki and her life had fallen into darkness. Each day she would visit the bridge to mourn the loss of the man she loved, each day she would avoid her friends who had been against their love, each day she ignored her parents attempts to help her. She had bonded with Thor, who was separated from the woman he loved. At first she had blamed him a lot until she realised that Thor was hurting for his brother too. Odin and Frigga had lied to Loki about his true parentage but Thor had grown up to believe the lie just as much as Loki. Thor was the only one she trusted these days. Astrid still lived in the palace and continued with her training but also pursued the darker side of magic. At night she would stay up to study, everything and anything she could get her hands on. She had moved into Loki's room and had found a lot of forbidden magic books he likely hid from everyone. Studying the same magic made her feel like Loki was still close and still a part of her. Astrid also took the time to train physically, she wanted to become the woman worthy of Loki's memory. She was determined to become stronger, faster, smarter. Anything she could do to improve herself, she did. Her normally tame wavy locked grew wild and more curly, dark rings were constant around her eyes from lack of sleep. She no longer wore cheerful lilac shades but instead went with the darker, richer shade of violet. Whenever Thor would convince Astrid to accompany him to meet with their friends, Astrid would overhear their gossip. They would often comment on how much she was now like Loki. Once she was the opposite of him and now, day by day she was becoming just like him. This was the only thing she enjoyed about being around Sif and the warriors three. She felt as if Loki could live on through her if she could remind people of him. Her thoughts were consumed by him, everything else was a blur.

"Astrid?" The voice of Thor cut into her thoughts, she felt his hand on her back as she looked over to him and wondered how long he had been standing there.

"Yes?" She asked quietly.

"I said we have to go. Father has urgent matters to discuss with us." Thor said seriously. Astrid sighed, she had no desire to see the man that broke her love.

"Very well." She replied and climbed up onto her large dark horse. It was once Loki's and too big for her but she rode it none the less. The two quickly made their way back to the palace and into the throne room.

"Father, we're here." Thor announced as he walked up to the large golden throne with Astrid beside him.

"Good, I have important news." Odin said as he stood and moved closer.

"What is it?" Thor asked, interested in what could be so urgent.

"Loki is alive." Odin spoke, Astrid let out an audible gasp.

"Where? How?" She spilled out quickly.

"I do not know how. But he is on Midgard and he is causing problems. He has obtained the Tesseract, a powerful artifact that could unleash hell if he uses it. He means to use it to take over the planet." Odin explained carefully, he was conflicted as he felt relief for the news of his son being alive and yet the duty of needing to protect an innocent race from his anger.

"We must go to Midgard, we must bring him home." Thor said, trying to think of a way. He had spent his time trying to come up with a way to his Jane but with no luck.

"Yes but that is the problem, the Bifrost is lost to us." Odin said seriously. Astrid looked up to Odin cautiously as she thought of a plan.

"Just how far are you willing to go to get him back?" She asked darkly, gaining the attention of both men.

"You know a way?" Thor asked quickly.

"I may, that depends. All-father, there is forbidden magic one can use to travel. It requires using dark energy." Astrid said carefully, looking up to the king.

"I do not know where you got your information from Astrid but speak carefully, dark energy is not something to toy with." Odin replied seriously.

"Loki is your son, is he not? He got to this place in his life because you held the truth from him and thus felt betrayal when you finally told him of his parentage. It is your duty to do whatever it takes to bring him home." Astrid said quickly, playing on the All-father's guilt which she knew he had been harboring.

"Very well, Thor I shall send you to collect Loki and the Tesseract. Once you get your hands on it, you can use it's energy to bring you both home." Odin said, he had known about using dark energy but had avoided mentioning it earlier as he knew how badly Thor wished to return to Midgard.

"I shall act swiftly, father. Loki will be home by dinner." Thor said bravely.

"Oh no, Thor does not go to Earth unless I come with him." Astrid announced, not about to sit around and wait for Loki to be returned to her. The old Astrid would do as she was told and make no fuss of it, the new Astrid would not be so easily controlled.

"Astrid, Midgard is not like Asgard." Odin cautioned.

"I am well aware, I've studied Earth enough to know how to behave. Have you stopped to wonder though, if Loki is able to travel; why didn't he come home? He chose to let go, he chose to go into a wormhole rather than to face you." Astrid argued back.

"She's right father, Astrid might be our only hope to get Loki to come home willingly before any damage is done." Thor said, backing Astrid up.

"Very well, you shall both go. Prepare yourselves."

**Author's note: Yes I'm back with the sequel. I didn't like leaving it with a sad ending so Astrid is back and ready to claim her man. I've also started a Steve Rogers story called "Out of time" please check it out too. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: I really dislike using so many quotes from the movie but Thor and Loki finally seeing each other again is an important part. So enjoy.**

Astrid and Thor stood on a small island and looked around. Odin had sent them to the closest location to where Loki currently was.

"I do not see him." Thor said, confused. Astrid looked around before pointing up to the sky.

"That mechanical transporter. He's in it." Astrid said as Thor spun his hammer, preparing for flight.

"We'll be back, you wait here." Thor said before taking off into the sky.

"Like you've given me a choice." Astrid said to herself as she walked around the small area. Lightning lit up the sky and soon she saw something falling to the rocky, higher ground of the island. She made her way there on foot, not able to teleport into an area she does not know. On the other side of the island Thor slammed Loki into a large boulder.

"Where is the Tesseract?" Thor demanded of Loki as he held him tightly. Loki laughed.

"I missed you too." Loki replied.

"Do I look to be in a gaming mood?" Thor asked, knowing the sooner they had the Tesseract the sooner they could return home.

"Oh, you should thank me. With the Bifrost gone how much dark energy did the Allfather have to muster to conjure you here? Your precious Earth. " Loki said, knowing the only way for Thor to be on Earth would be with the use of dark energy.

"I thought you dead." Thor said, looking emotional as he let Loki go.

"Did you mourn?" Loki asked, secretly hoping for word on Astrid but not daring to ask incase he did not like the answer.

"We all did. Our father..." Thor started before being cut off.

"Your father. He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?" Loki said bitterly while starting to walk away.

"We were raised together, we played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?" Thor shouted after Loki, not liking his dismissal.

"I remember a shadow. Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I who was and should be king!" Loki spat back.

"So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights. No, the Earth is under my protection, Loki." Thor shouted angrily. Loki laughed at this.

"And you're doing a marvelous job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves, while you ideally threat. I mean to rule them. And why should I not?" Loki asked.

"You think yourself above them." Thor replied.

"Well, yes." Loki said simply.

"Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother. Throne would suit you ill." Thor replied.

"I've seen worlds you've never known about! I have grown, Odinson, in my exile! I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it... " Loki started but Thor spoke up.

"Who showed you this power? Who controls the would-be-king?" Thor asked.

"I am a king!" Loki shouted.

"Not here! You give up the Tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream! You come home. To your family, to Astrid. Have you stopped to think of the pain you have caused her?!" Thor shouted, looking near tears. Loki stared for a moment, mentioing Astrid got to him and Thor could see it.

" I don't have it. You need the cube to bring me home, but I've sent it off I know not where. " Loki replied quickly, avoiding the subject of his love.

"You listen well. Brother, I..." Thor started before getting tackled into the distance by Iron Man.

"I'm listening." Loki replied with a smirk. Astrid took her opportunity to step out from the shadows.

"Good, because this conversation is not over." She said, giving away her presence. Loki looked over and stared, Astrid was a sight for sore eyes yet looked so different from how he remembered her. Instead of looking like an innocent healer, she now wore tight black leather, silver plates and dark violet material.

"Astrid... you look... different." Loki said, stunned. Astrid moved closer and took in Loki's changes. He once looked so youthful and clean cut. Now his hair was longer, he was paler and had dark circles under his eyes; somehow it made him look much older.

"And you look tired." Astrid, now within his reach.

"I'm sorry I missed our wedding." Loki said quietly, reaching out for her only to have his hand pushed away.

"Not yet you're not, but you will be." Astrid said darkly before slapping Loki hard across the face.

"How could..." Loki was cut off once more but this time by Astrid's lips. She pulled him roughly to her by his coat and kissed him with a heated passion. This was not the submissive Astrid he remembered but Loki could not deny that the power she was showing excited him. Astrid pulled apart from him once more.

"Time changes everything, even me." Astrid said seriously, looking up into Loki's eyes.

"You're not the only one who has changed. My love for you has not though, of this I can assure you." Loki said as he held her gaze.

"My heart is still yours, as always. But it has been broken, I believed you dead for so long..." Astrid said, barely above a whisper. Now Loki understood this darker side of Astrid, he had left her in the dark to suffer alone.

"We shall heal it, together." Loki promised, his one regret from leaving Asgard was leaving her behind. At the time he believed he had to, he had promised himself that he would become a man worthy of her before he brought her to him.

"Yes, but I cannot assure you that it will return to it's original state. But we will try, on Asgard where you belong." Astrid said, taking a step back. Loki looked away.

"I cannot return there, you must understand. I am a king and I cannot be one there. I mean to rule Earth." Loki said cautiously, knowing upsetting Astrid would not be the same as upsetting Thor.

"Yes, I heard. But this is not your home Loki. We grew up on Asgard, we must return there." Astrid said.

"Not before he comes with us." Came an unfamilar voice, Astrid turned to see the metal man again. Thor was with him as well as another human dressed in red, blue and white.

"What's going on?" Astrid asked, standing between the men and Loki.

"Astrid, these men are the protectors of Earth. We must work with them until the Tesseract is found." Thor explained, moving over and placing a hand behind Astrid's back. Loki glared as jealousy flamed from the small touch.

"They look absurd, can we trust them?" Astrid asked suspiciously.

"I assure you sweetheart, we would never hurt a pretty face like yours." Came a voice from the red and yellow suited man.

"As if you could hurt me, metal man." Astrid replied darkly, making Loki smirk. Once Astrid would have shyed away from men like that. Soon they were all on the jet and being taken back to what they were informed to be SHIELD's helicarrier. Astrid watched as several guards took Loki to his cell. Thor and her followed Steve Rogers as the metal man went to have his suit removed. Once in the control room, Astrid was introduced to the others and watched on a small screen as the man in charge of their organisation talked to Loki. As soon as she could, she would return to him and try to reason with him. For now she was to bide her time.


	3. Chapter 3

Astrid stood beside Thor and took in everything she heard as the group talked about what was to be done. She did not completely understand what was said but kept a mental note of it all just incase.

"So we know Thor but who is she?" Natasha Romanoff asked as the group looked over, they were also interested. Astrid stayed silent for a moment.

"Forgive me, this is Astrid." Thor said to the group.

"And why does Astrid want to bring Loki back? Is she your sister?" Steve Rogers asked.

"I am Loki's lover." Astrid announced, getting a shocked reaction.

"I've got to wonder then, why exactly are you going against him to help us?" Tony asked, finding her even more interesting.

"I would never go against him. I want what is best for him and know that Asgard is where he needs to be." Astrid explained.

"Astrid is here with Thor and will be treated like any other member of this team." Nick Fury announced, knowing that the others were wondering if Astrid would betray them.

"She may be of use. Maybe she can get Loki to tell us where the Tesseract is before anything else happens." Natasha suggested.

"I won't manipulate him." Astrid replied. She was loyal to Loki no matter what he had done.

"Perhaps you can reason with him. He has always listened to you." Thor said in a gentler tone, knowing since Loki first went missing Astrid had been difficult to everyone. Astrid agreed and soon Nick Fury was walking her to Loki's cell.

"I will talk to him but I don't want those digital eyes on me." Astrid said.

"The cameras are there for everyone's safety. If he tries to escape, we can see him." Fury explained.

"Loki will not try to escape while I am with him, I give you my word on this." Astrid replied.

"Why don't you want us seeing what you have to say? Have something to hide?" Fury asked, glancing over.

"Nothing to hide, no. But I do wish to keep my dignity. Things said to one's love in private should be kept as such." Astrid replied, looking directly into Fury's one good eye.

"I won't have anything inappropriate happening to a criminal on my watch, ma'am." Fury said seriously.

"Nothing inappropriate, I assure you. It just wouldn't hurt to remind him of what he could have back on Asgard." Astrid said.

"And what exactly could he have on Asgard, if you don't mind me asking?" Fury asked.

"A wife, Director." Astrid answered as she stepped into the large, cold room that help the glass cell. She looked around, observing her surroundings.

"No funny business, alright?" Fury warned.

"Business is never funny. Kindly take those guards with you as well." Astrid said, indicating to the two men standing near the control board.

"I can't do that. You've got the cameras off you, those men stay." Fury ordered. Astrid rolled her eyes but went along with it. She walked down to the glass cell and saw Loki standing proudly.

"You came." Loki said with a smile as he moved closer to the glass.

"How could I not?" Astrid asked as she stepped through the glass as if it were nothing.

"You've been practising." Loki replied, placing his hands on Astrid's hips.

"I had to do something to pass the time." Astrid said, placing a small kiss onto Loki's lips.

"You're here to convince me to give up the Tesseract, aren't you?" Loki asked, taking a step back.

"They asked me to, yes." Astrid replied.

"Do you side with them?" Loki asked, looking away.

"Somewhat, yes. You know I support you, no matter what the case. But this planet isn't home, for either of us." Astrid said seriously, looking up to Loki.

"It could be, you could be a queen." Loki said.

"And rule mortals? This is no place for us, don't you miss Asgard? Don't you miss what we had?" Astrid questioned.

"You were meant to be queen, if I returned there I would be nothing. I do not miss living in his shadow." Loki said, Astrid knew exactly who he was talking about.

"I do not need to be queen, I only need you. Come back Loki, we can be married and I will treat you like the king that you are." She replied, stroking his cheek gently. She did not like others seeing him in this manner but had no choice. He had gone so long without a warm touch and Astrid could see this.

"Even if I am unworthy of your kindness?" Loki asked sadly, looking down to her.

"You are always worthy of me." Astrid answered seriously.

"I do not feel it. I need to do this, Astrid." Loki said firmly. Astrid stood on her toes and kissed over his neck.

"There's nothing I can do to tempt you to change your mind?" She whispered heatedly into his ear. Loki stared out into the distance and felt a shiver up his spine, Astrid had never talked like that to him before.

"I'm sure there is plenty that you could do. But I'll ask you not to sway me with your charms, this is something I need to do to prove myself." Loki said, gently stepping back from Astrid before she could say anymore and leave him over excited.

"Who do you need to prove yourself to? Odin?" Astrid questioned, normally he would snap at anyone who mentioned that name but with Astrid, it was different.

"To myself." Loki stated simply, Astrid understood his motives now and bowed her head. He needed to do this for himself and she would not stop him.

"Very well, I will not ask you to change your mind. I will return later." Astrid said simply, kissing him once more before she moved out of the glass cell. Nick Fury stood waiting by the door and looked to her.

"Well?" He questioned.

"He will not give it up." Astrid stated.

"You need to try harder." Nick said, sounding aggressive.

"To what end? If I push him too hard I will push him away and lose his trust. That would get us no where." Astrid said firmly.

"And what about that walking through glass deal? Can he do that?" Nick questioned.

"Of course. Where do you think I learnt it?" Astrid said with a smirk as she made it all too clear they could not truly hold Loki.


	4. Chapter 4

Astrid stared out at the blue sky from the viewing deck. It was so different from the sky in Asgard. She sighed and wondered what it would take for Loki to want to come home.

"May I join you?" Steve Rogers asked as he came into the viewing room.

"I do not see why not." Astrid replied quietly as she looked over to the soldier.

"Fitting in ok?" Steve asked to make polite conversation. He wanted to know more about the girl who could potentially turn against them.

"As well as can be expected." Astrid replied, not having much interest in the man talking to her.

"It must be difficult, being against the man you were to marry." Steve commented, hoping to get some answers.

"It is, but it needs to be done." Astrid replied simply.

"And if the time comes when you have to face him?" Steve questioned further.

"We would be at a stand still. I cannot fight him nor could he fight me. It would be Thor who takes on Loki." Astrid answered, already annoyed at the obvious interrogation.

"Then are you really here to help or are you just here to get closer to Loki?" Steve asked accusingly.

"I am your best chance at keeping Loki calm. I am able to talk to him, reason with him. I am here for him but I am also here to bring him home." Astrid replied.

"I see. I just hope you don't decide to turn against us if this army is unleashed." Steve said seriously.

"You know, you and the others assuming I will turn against you doesn't really help." Astrid said before walking away, making her way back to her room. Astrid caught a glimpse of herself in the glass windows as she walked past the labs, she looked so different. She was once the most innocent and trustworthy of the group on Asgard, none would have questioned her word. Now, on Earth, Astrid was obviously the least liked and least trustworthy. They all thought she was against them, simply for being herself. She could not help loving Loki and would never give that up. Being the outcast of the group, Astrid realised she was experiencing what Loki had felt everyday of his life. The others had never spoken kindly of him, Sif had always seen him as a traitor before he had ever gone against them. Astrid felt pain welling up in her chest, Loki had felt so alone for so long and she had not been there for him. She had always loved Loki, but had hidden it well. She wondered if she had openly expressed her love for him from the very start, would he had been driven to such an extreme point? She had always silently blamed Odin for Loki turning out the way he did, but she knew now that it was not Odin alone that caused Loki's pain. If Thor had not been so arrogant, Sif not so judging, the warriors three not so insensitive and her not so blind.

"We created him..." She whispered to herself as she quickly wiped a single tear. Astrid felt a surge of pain coursing through her body as guilt and understanding hit her hard. Quickly, she changed her route and made her way to the cell room.

"My, what a pleasant surprise." Loki said as Astrid burst into the room. Of course he quickly saw that she was upset and moved over to the glass.

"What's wrong? Did the Earthlings do something to you? I'll unleash horrors they've never seen if they hurt you..." Loki said darkly as he imagined all the possible causes of Astrid's pain. Astrid placed a hand on the glass, as Fury had made it clear early she was not to enter his cell.

"Do you remember your twelfth birthday?" Astrid asked, confusing the god of mischief more so.

"I recall it, yes." Loki replied curiously.

"Do you remember when Sif stood up and said to the group that you would never get married because no woman would ever want a weakling like you?" Astrid asked, on the verge of tears. Loki's brows rose in further confusion.

"Yes, but I fail to see why that is upsetting you..." Loki replied.

"I think about that day all the time. I remember wanting so badly to get up and tell everyone that I liked you, that you weren't weak, that you were strong in a different way. It haunts me, it was the first time I saw you getting picked on and I stood by and did nothing. And every other time after that, when I wanted to defend you, wanted to stand up for you, but I never did. I failed you when you needed me." Astrid spoke softly, looking up into Loki's bright green eyes.

"Hush my dear, you must not let such things bother you." Loki attempted to sooth, it would be easier without the glass in the way but he had to play along with being captured.

"But if I had, if just one person had stood up for you. Maybe... maybe you wouldn't be hurting the way you're hurting now." Astrid said, close to tears despite wanting to stay strong.

"Astrid, I knew you were on my side, even if you never showed it. I saw you getting picked on plenty of times too, the boys always gave you a hard time for being gentle, as if it were a weakness. You didn't turn out like me..." Loki said quietly, he knew he had made mistakes but would admit it to no one but her.

"I still wasn't strong enough for you." Astrid replied.

"What's brought all this on, my pet?" Loki asked curiously.

"The people here, they treat me as you were treated on Asgard. I never knew just how much it could hurt to be treated like the enemy when you're only trying to help." Astrid replied sadly.

"You were once so sweet and kind, since I left you've changed a great deal... I feel as if I've had a negative effect on you." Loki mused.

"You don't like what I've become?" Astrid asked, feeling her heart stop.

"You misunderstand, I love what you've become. You're the same Astrid I lost my heart to, only with a spicy new outside. We're very much the same now, strong and cut throat on the outside. But you and I know each other's softer inside." Loki said with a smile.

"That's true, I sometimes wish they could all see that softer side to you... understand you a bit better. But you said negative effect and that makes me wonder." Astrid replied, slightly relieved.

"Society and I have very different views. They will see you as having gone "bad" from being close to me, I see you as... well..." Loki smirked as he visibly admired Astrid's mostly leather outfit. Astrid smiled up to him.

"You, my love, are wicked." Astrid replied, sharing a chuckle with him.

"If you two lovebirds are quite finished..." Came the voice of Tony Stark. Astrid looked over, hoping their conversation had been private.

"Yes?" Astrid asked, using a tone of annoyance.

"Fury wants us all in the meeting room. I believe he'd like to go over some team building exercises with us. I bet we all sit around in a circle, I'll play guitar and we can share some weed." Tony replied sarcastically as he walked off. Astrid turned back to Loki.

"Do what you need to do, my dear." Loki said with a smile.

"I'll be back later on." Astrid said, blowing him a kiss with a smirk.

"And I'm sure I'll be here, waiting with bated breath for your return." Loki replied as Astrid walked out. Loki wondered if he could not simply run away with Astrid and forget his plans, he knew it was not possible. The leader of the chitauri had made it clear to him, there was no going back.


	5. Chapter 5

Astrid ate slowly with Thor, they were sharing a room much to her displeasure. While she had grown closer to Thor since his return from Earth, she still didn't like sharing such a small space with him. It felt too intimate, she had never had the chance to live so closely to Loki and did not want Thor to be the first man she shared a room with.

"What are you going to do?" Thor asked between bites.

"Hmm, about what?" Astrid asked, she had been thinking of Loki.

"The team. They don't trust you, Astrid." Thor said seriously.

"That is not important, I shouldn't have to prove myself to them." Astrid replied.

"Trust is very important, in any good team, trust will hold everyone together." Thor replied, knowing the life of a warrior well.

"What am I supposed to do to change their minds? I will not demean myself for their sakes." Astrid said, feeling anger building. She felt suffocated from so many people distrusting her, she needed space to breath.

"Perhaps you could demand Loki to give up the Tesseract. He's always listened to you, make him see reason." Thor said as he finished his meal.

"I have tried, do not think that I have not tried! I have done all I can and still he refuses. There is nothing more I can do." Astrid shouted, she was frustrated.

"Maybe you could go into his mind... you two share a link..." Thor said suggestively.

"I will not. To go into his mind for that purpose would be a complete betrayal. Would you not feel violated if someone you trusted invaded your mind and stole your secrets against your will?" Astrid snapped. Thor lowered his head as he processed her answer, he was still learning to empathise.

"This is true. Is there nothing we can do?" Thor asked sadly, wishing for nothing more than his brother to return home.

"Nothing yet. We must wait until the situation changes." Astrid answered and got up to pace the small room. Thor soon left to walk the ship and left Astrid to her thoughts. The moment the door closed behind him, Astrid sat on her small bed and closed her eyes.

_"This place is trying."_ Astrid thought as she built the mental link between her and Loki.

_"At least you have your freedom." _Loki's voice filled her mind, it was comforting.

_"I am as free as you are, my dear."_ Astrid replied, knowing she was obligated to stay with Thor.

_"Well then, to good company in our captivity."_ Loki replied, a smirk appearing on his face and making the guards look.

_"When have you ever been good?"_ Astrid thought with a smile, causing Loki to chuckle. The guards were starting to question his sanity.

_"Am I good enough for you?" _Loki questioned playfully.

_"Always."_ Astrid replied seriously.

_"You should rest, you must be weary from your long day on Earth."_ Loki's voice was gentle, caring and warm.

_"I dislike my quarters, I do not feel I will rest well here."_ Astrid replied. Wondering if she should tell him why.

_"And why is that, might I ask?"_ Loki questioned.

_"I must share a room with Thor." _Astrid replied, knowing it was a bad idea to admit that to him. For a while there was silence. She knew the idea of sharing a room with his brother would make Loki boil.

_"I see..." _Loki's voice sounded cold when he finally answered. Loki knew it was pety, but he felt jealous and betrayed.

_"We have separate beds, of course. I think they don't trust me enough to leave me alone too long." _Astrid quickly explained, wishing for Loki to answer her.

_"You're always welcome in my cell, though I'd imagine a bed is more suited to you."_ Loki replied smoothly, hiding his sudden jealousy.

_"A bed would be more suited to me if you were in it." _Astrid teased to lighten the mood.

_"Naturally. Soon, my dear, soon."_ Loki replied.

_"Until then, I will have to make do with my dreams."_ Astird thought.

_"Then I shall send you sweet dreams. Goodnight pet."_ Loki's voice was once again soft and warm. Astrid laid down over the covers, not wanting to get too settled with Thor sharing a room.

_"Goodnight, Loki."_ Astrid's last thoughts whispered into Loki's mind before the connection was broken. Loki smiled, knowing she would be asleep. It had been such a long time before Astrid's mental presence had touched him, it felt warm, safe and loving. Loki wondered if his presence in her mind felt the same as he looked over to the guards who had been watching him closely.

Thor returned to the room and looked over to Astrid. She looked uncomfortable wearing her clothing while sleeping on the small bed. He removed the blanket from his own bed and covered her over, he knew she was having a hard time and wanted to make things easier for her. Before his trip to Earth, he had seen Astrid as prime wife material. He now viewed Astrid as the little sister he always had but never realised how special she was. When others saw her, they saw the harsher exterior she had taken to appear stronger after Loki's disappearance but Thor still saw the little girl who would heal their cut knees after playing together. It made him sad to see her change so much over the months but he still held hope for both her and Loki. He believed that they could both become happy again once Loki had been returned to Asgard. But for now, Thor would protect Astrid until a time that Loki was ready to take that place again.

**Author's note: Ok everyone, I know this is sudden but I will not be able to update for roughly 1-2 weeks. I am going into hospital tomorrow and will not be out for a week, I'm not sure how I will feel after that either. While I do not like leaving my stories, I'm sure you all understand that this is not something I can put off. So until next time, I hope you don't forget about the story and I hope you had fun reading. X**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: I'm back! Thanks everyone for the kind messages. I'm feeling ok, had some complications after my surgery which is why it took longer than usual to finally update. I went in thinking I would have far too much spare time and would be able to write a few chapters while I was there. I was very wrong. You don't really feel like doing much when you're out of your mind on pain killers and fighting off constant drowsiness. I haven't even looked at my stories until now and so it might be a little bit of an effort to get back into them. Anyway, please enjoy and review.**

Astrid woke to find herself covered over, she looked across from her to see Thor trying to sleep without a blanket. She smiled at his kindness. Thor would have once been too self involved to think of her in such a way but since Jane came into his life, he had become a better man. Slowly she got up and threw the blanket over Thor while she went and attempted to work out the Earth styled bathroom. She had to admit that having water stream down over her was a wonderful feeling, the heat relaxed her muscles and allowed her cares to disappear for a moment.

Not long later Thor awoke and looked around for Astrid, she was no where in their room but the door to the bathroom was closed. He walked over and spoke her name, hearing no reply but running water, he opened the door to inspect the noise further. Thor stopped and stared as he realised his mistake.

"My apologies!" Thor shouted loudly, catching Astrid's attention as she had been too relaxed and heard nothing over the water of the shower flowing around her. Astrid stared for a moment as she realised how much Thor had seen.

"Get out!" She shouted angrily, knowing there would be hell to pay for Thor. Thor quickly left the room as she got out and dressed quickly. As she was pulling her hair up, the thought hit her like lightning; what would happen when Loki found out? She growled out in deeper anger, knowing he would find out soon enough.

"Thor!" Astrid shouted as she stepped out of the bathroom fully clothed.

"I'm very sorry, I called your name and you did not answer." Thor defended as he stood awkwardly by his bed. Astrid moved over quickly and grabbed him by his armor.

"Do you think that will matter when Loki finds out?" Astrid asked. Thor stared as he realised the full situation.

"Loki... he doesn't need to know..." Thor said quickly.

"I hide nothing from him." Astrid replied with a scowl, knowing she would have to tell him.

"Surely this once you could make an exception?" Thor said in disbelief.

"Secrets ruin relationships." Astrid answered and pushed Thor back in anger as she stormed off. She walked in the direction of Loki's cell but soon slowed her speed, thoughts of how Loki would react flooded her mind and she felt pain in her chest. He would feel angry, hurt and betrayed. She wondered how badly it would effect their attempts to reason with him. She arrived at Loki's cell all too quickly. Loki smiled when he saw her walking up to the thick glass.

"Good morning. I trust you slept well? I do hope your room mate did not bother you too much." Loki said, already showing unease with Astrid sharing a room with Thor.

"I slept well enough, but he did bother me. I would have much rathered a room with you." Astrid said as casually as she could. Unlike Loki, she could not cover her feelings well behind a mask. Loki looked down and tried to analyse Astrid's face. It was all too apparent that she was hiding something. Loki's fears and paranoid thoughts began to rise to the surface, perhaps she had developed feelings for Thor and was willingly sharing a room with him. She could be hiding her feelings until Loki agreed to return to Asgard. He had left her alone for six months, in that time she believed he was dead. Astrid was smart and beautiful, she could have found someone else easily in that time. Thor had also changed a lot since his first trip to Earth, what if he was now attractive to Astrid? Loki kept up his mask and acted as if he did not notice anything different about her. She had not admitted to anything yet and so he would bide his time and search for answers on his own.

"I'm sure you would, soon I will have a room worthy of your presence." Loki said with his usual charm. Astrid smiled, believing she was getting away with not mentioning anything yet. She had fully intended to tell him what had happened but knew it would likely cause him pain and that was not something she wanted to do. It meant nothing to her, it meant nothing to Thor but to Loki it would mean anger, pain and frustration. Loki needed none of those things, what he needed was simplicity, kindness and understanding. By keeping it quiet, Astrid believed she was doing the right thing. The two exchanged idle small talk, Astrid hid her guilt as well as she could and Loki hid the fact that he knew something had happened. Astrid left soon after for breakfast with the promise to visit again before the day was out. Loki watched her go before his face turned dark with thought.

An hour passed and Loki's cell gained another visit. This time the person seeking him out was Thor. Thor looked to Loki cautiously before approaching his glass chamber. Thor had the same look on his face that Astrid wore earlier, he had guessed that Astrid's secret was linked to Thor somehow. While Astrid had hid herself enough for Loki to be left wondering, Thor would be easy to read.

"Brother, I have come to apologise for my actions. I do hope you are not too angry after hearing of this morning's events." Thor announced. Loki tilted his head to the side and smiled, this was his chance to gather the information he needed.

"Oh I completely understand, but please, say what you need to say."

**Author's note: Ah the age old question. If something happened that meant nothing to you but would cause your partner pain, would you tell them? In my opinion it's complicated, telling them would hurt them but so would lying. Your thoughts?**


	7. Chapter 7

Loki stared intently, his face showed no signs of emotion whatsoever. Thor watched Loki and realised not only had Loki not known about the accident from that morning, but also that telling Loki had been a big mistake.

"Brother?" Thor asked after a long silent moment.

"Mm?" Loki forced out, gathering as much strength as he could muster to force out such a tiny response.

"You understand then? It was all just a mistake." Thor said carefully, trying to understand his brother's reaction but seeing none, which was always more dangerous when it came to Loki.

"Oh, I understand completely." Loki said in a low voice, the words were forced and felt as if venom was dripping from them.

"I see... well I shall leave you to thoughts, brother." Thor said as confidently as he could muster before leaving the room. He needed to find Astrid, to warn her of what he had told Loki.

Loki stood in his glass cell and watched as Thor left, rage boiled over inside of him. He could not believe it, after so much struggle to be with Astrid, Thor still had ways of taking her away from him. He knew that Astrid was still his, but knowing that Thor had seen her in such a private setting was torture. It was more difficult as Loki had yet to see Astrid in that way for himself. His jealousy and anger twisted around inside his chest and the pit of his stomach as he allowed dark thoughts to pass though his mind. Loki silently wondered if Thor was the first and only man to see Astrid's body. Loki himself had only imagined what Astrid looked like beneath her garments. It hurt him, knowing there was nothing he could do to change the events of that day. It hurt him more knowing that Astrid had lied to him. Astrid had never lied to him and it made him question, had she kept the truth to protect him, to protect Thor or to protect herself? Loki decided to find the answers for himself. It would be back to his old tricks.

Thor walked the halls aimlessly, he had checked back in their room to find it empty. He had asked some of the crew to no luck. Astrid was likely avoiding him but he was deperate to find her and warn her. Loki was already more unstable than ever, the news that the only person keeping him calm could be enough to push him over the egde. Thor worried for Earth and also for Astrid.

Loki watched as Thor searched without a hope, he turned and made his way in the opposite direction as he sought out Astrid. He had always been good at finding Astrid when she was upset. Loki quickly changed his form from a nameless SHIELD agent to that of Thor as he walked down into the storage rooms of the helicarrier. It wasn't long before he found her, tucked away behind a large crate. He cleared his throat to catch her attention, waiting to judge her intial reaction to 'Thor' to see how he should proceed. Astrid looked up and rolled her eyes.

"What do you want?" Astrid snapped, already showing disapproval of him being there. Loki felt a wave of relief, Astrid was angry with Thor.

"I wish to speak to you about this morning." Loki said simply, for now he was setting bait to see her responses.

"There is nothing more to talk about, go away." Astrid replied bitterly, she was feeling guilty for not telling Loki. It was making her sick, keeping the truth while knowing it would be just as bad to hurt him.

"I wanted to apologise, again." Loki said, seeing that Astrid was battling with herself. He cautiously moved closer and sat across from her. He tried to hide any emotions he was feeling, he wanted to appear open.

"Don't. Apologising won't make anything better." Astrid said, looking at the ground.

"Was it really such a terrible thing to happen? It was just an accident afterall." Loki replied casually, needing to know more.

"Of course it is! Do you know what this would do to Loki if he knew? It would hurt him so badly... I promised myself to him and while you seeing me was innocent, it will still cause harm. The only man who should see me the way you saw me is Loki." Astrid said seriously. Loki's jealousy relaxed slightly hearing Astrid explain her own view on the appalling event but he still held deep anger with Thor.

"So you don't plan to tell him?" Loki questioned further.

"I want to... but it will upset him and I don't want that. But I also don't want to keep something from him. It was innocent so it shouldn't be a secret but... I don't know!" Astrid replied with a sigh as she threw herself back against the crate in frustration. She had been thinking on it all morning since leaving Loki and it was driving her insane.

"You should tell him, it would be better for him to know sooner rather than later." Loki said, feeling slightly better. He could see that Astrid still belonged to him, that she had no feelings for Thor and was only keeping the secret to avoid hurting him. He still felt angry and would most certainly plan a way to punish Thor but he could not hold it against her.

"I should but... what if he doesn't want me after I tell him? You two have always had issues, what if knowing you've seen me naked is enough to make me undesirable to him?" Astrid questioned, showing her own insecurities. Loki chuckled at such a notion.

"It's not funny!" Astrid's once vulnerable look turning to anger.

"Oh my dear, but it is. I could never find you undesirable." Loki's voice returned to his own first before the illusion of Thor's form shifted back to Loki's true self. Astrid stared for a moment before frowning.

"You tricked me." Astrid said, unsure if she should feel betrayed or just enjoy the relief knowing that Loki was not mad at her.

"I wanted to know the truth, confronting you as myself would not allow you to be completely honest. You would be afraid of hurting me or making me angry." Loki explained before narrowly avoiding a punch aimed at his shoulder.

"I've been worrying all morning you know!" Astrid said angrily before slowly calming down.

"Stop worrying, I believe you said that I am the only man who should see you the way Thor saw you. Am I correct in assuming that gives me the right to look whenever it pleases me?" Loki asked playfully, deciding they both needed to forget any bad feelings for a little while.

**Author's note: Sorry it's been so late, I am having some major writer's block. I'll be trying to update Out of Time tomorrow! Please review.**


	8. Chapter 8

Astrid smiled as she lazily traced a finger over Loki's bare chest. After the morning she had been having, she did not expect her day to take this turn. To be laying in Loki's arms in the middle of a cold storage room, their exposed bodies tangled together over Loki's coat; it was more than she could have hoped for. Loki inspected Astrid carefully; while he had never pressured her nor actively sought out such an act, he had to admit to himself that their relationship had developed a great deal from expressing their love physically.

"I regret getting so carried away, I hope I did not hurt you." Loki said in a soft tone as he took Astrid's hand in his.

"You have nothing to regret, trust me." She replied with a coy smile before sitting up and stretching. Loki's eyes followed Astrid's curves for a moment until their eyes met.

"Going somewhere, pet?" Loki asked calmly, having known their moment together could not last.

"I've got to get back and I'm guessing someone will have noticed that you haven't moved for a while." Astrid answered as she started dressing.

"That is a setback with the holograms but they are convenient when I need to step out for a while." Loki replied with a smile as he too began to dress. Astrid looked over to him for a moment, it was a tempting sight; Loki undressed and baring all. She knew that he would allow no one else to see him so exposed and that made her feel special.

"Enjoying the view?" Loki asked with a sly smile as he caught Astrid looking, Astrid went red and looked down to focus on tying her pants.

"Sorry..." She whispered. Loki moved over to her and gently placed a finger under her chin to make her look at him.

"I am yours as you are mine. We may not have wed yet but I am your humble servant none the less. It is my greatest wish to make you happy." Loki whispered softly, making Astrid weak at the knees.

"It is such a change to adjust to, I had been thinking of you like this for such a long time, to finally have it is..." Astrid looked down, despite all they had done; she still felt shy. Loki smiled.

"We have plenty of time to adjust, my dear." Loki said, placing a small kiss on her forehead before returning to his clothes. Astrid smiled and looked over once more.

"You have the power to leave at any time and yet to stay, why?" She asked, knowing that Loki wasn't staying for her as she would follow him if asked.

"All part of the plan my dear, but the time to leave is drawing closer so you best stay on your toes." Loki answered vaguely, Astrid was working with his enemies and while he trusted her wholly; he did not want to burden her with his plans. Astrid accepted his answer with a grain of salt, it was difficult for her to be on the side that was against the man she loved so dearly.

Once dressed, Astrid gave Loki a soft, loving kiss and went on her way. A smile found a way of creeping onto her face as thought of him while she walked. For just a little while, they were carefree and in each other's arms. Soon she would have to face the others and deal with the same problems, their judgement and distrust of her. Astrid's thoughts ran wild as she walked and before she knew it, she was back in the main hallways of the Helicarrier.

"Little sister!" Came the voice of Thor as Astrid turned to see him running up.

"Do you really need to call me that?" Astrid asked with a soft smile. Thor felt relieved seeing that Astrid no longer looked ready to kill him.

"You're no longer angry with me?" He asked hopefully.

"No, it was an accident afterall." Astrid answered, she was in too good of a mood to let anger take hold of her again.

"I'm glad, I knew you couldn't stay angry at me for long." Thor replied with a smile. Astrid raised her eyebrow in confusion.

"I was ready to throw you off this flying machine this morning and you thought I'd get over it so easily?" Astrid questioned. Thor placed a large hand on her shoulder casually.

"It is much like when we were children. When we would all fight, you would get upset with us for a little while but after having sometime to yourself you would come back to play again. You were never good at holding hatred because you're so loving." Thor said confidently, he knew Astrid more than she cared to admit.

Astrid smiled as she thought of their childhood, when things were easy. She had liked Loki then, but at the time it didn't hold as much importance as long as they could all play together. If Loki had misbehaved, he would have gotten a stern talking to before returning to their friends. The reality of the situation was crushing, if they caught Loki now; punishment would be drastically more severe. She also knew that even if she begged the All-father, he would not listen as much as he might have before. On Asgard, most people saw her as Loki's female counterpart. She had grown cold and angry towards others after losing him and there was no going back from that.

"People don't really think I'm the same as I was back then. I've changed." Astrid said as she walked along with Thor, her darker thoughts getting the better of her.

"You have changed, you've grown up but that doesn't mean you're not the same person as well. You are like the Midgard chocolates!" Thor announced, thinking he'd found the perfect way to describe Astrid.

"Midgard chocolates?" Astrid questioned, more confused by Thor's strange understanding of her.

"Yes, the people here have tiny little chocolates that carry the name 'M and M'. The healer known as Banner gave some to me. They have a hard candy coating outside and inside they are a sweet chocolate. You started out as a sweet, kind girl but after losing Loki you had to develop a hard coating to protect yourself. You're still sweet and kind, but one must first get through your hard coating to see it." Thor explained as best he could, Astrid smiled up to him before giving him a firm punch in the arm.

"You know me too well, brother."


	9. Chapter 9

Astrid walked into the labs with Thor to see a large weapon placed on a bench, both Tony Stark and Steve Rogers were demanding answers.

"This thing is powered by the Tesseract." Thor said, inspecting the gun.

"It's Phase two. Phase Two is all about using the Tesseract to make weapons! I thought you brought us together to save the world, not bring you a weapon!" Steve shouted angrily.

"Phase Two wasn't about you. It was about them." Fury replied, pointing at Thor and Astrid.

"Us?" Thor questioned.

"When the arrival of a visitor from another world confirmed that we are not alone in this universe, people got worried." Fury replied.

"Our race mean no harm, only peace!" Thor defended.

"But you're not the only race in the universe!" Fury replied. Fighting broke out between the others as Fury pinpointed his arguement with Thor and Astrid.

"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor started angrily.

"Excuse me, did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?" Fury replied. Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Humans are so petty, and tiny." Thor laughed.

"Petty? Look at who you're sided with. She hasn't helped in the slightest, only complicated matters." Fury snapped back, outraged. Thor growled out in anger.

"Astrid is an Asgardian and family, watch what you say about her." Thor said defensively. Astrid observed silently.

"She's sleeping with the enemy, literally; an agent saw footage of the two of them earlier today." Fury shouted out, catching the attention of most in the room.

"The guy is trying to take over the planet and you can't even keep your legs closed?!" Natasha spat out, disgusted. Astrid could understand her anger, Loki had taken Clint Barton, a man Astrid believed was Natasha's lover. Knowing this still did not help Astrid feel better as the others looked at her as if she were a cheap whore.

"What Astrid does with Loki is their business." Thor defended and quickly placed an arm around Astrid protectively. There was a silent moment before before Natasha spotted Bruce Banner with Loki's sceptor in his hand.

"Bruce, you need to remove yourself from this situation." Natasha said calmly as she approached Bruce.

"Why? Think this will make me angry?" Bruce said before noticing the scepter in his hands, he placed it back on the desk before the ship was hit and everyone was sent flying. Chaos broke out as Steve helped Tony to get his suit, Fury ran off to the control room to take charge and Natasha and Bruce fell through the floor. Thor looked to Astrid.

"You go check on Loki, I shall go down Banner and Romanoff. If he can't control himself, they will need me." Thor said, Astrid gave a nod as Thor ran off to give aid. Astrid looked to Loki's sceptor for a moment, she looked over the smooth, sleek metal and knew it could cause a lot of trouble. Despite her better judgement, Astrid took it with her as she ran towards Loki's cell room. Astrid was hurt by the judgement the others had placed on her, she was not a bad person but treated like one for loving Loki. Her love would never change and so she knew that the judgement she received so far would only continue to grow from this point on.

Loki took action quickly when the Helicarrier was hit, he knew his plan had gone perfectly. He could sense that the green beast had been released and so his other enemies would be made short work of. He knew Astrid would be able to keep herself safe from the Hulk, she was clever and would keep out of it's way. Loki stepped through the glass with ease and quickly took care of the guards, it made him laugh to know that Fury had left such tiny obstacles to keep him locked away.

"You're leaving?" The words sounded sad but knowing, Loki looked over to see Astrid standing in the doorway with his sceptor.

"I'm afraid the time has come for it, my dear." Loki said smoothly as he walked over to Astrid and slid an arm around her waist. He pulled her close and kissed her passionately.

"Come with me." He whispered against her lips as he gently took the sceptor from her hand. Astrid looked up into his deep eyes, she knew the consequences of joining him but it was all too tempting.

"I will." Astrid said quietly, feeling only guilt for leaving Thor; none for the others. Loki smiled with pride as he was truly united with his love once more. It had been difficult for the both of them to be on opposite sides and now that she had joined him, Loki relaxed a great deal.

"Head to landing bay, take this with you and they will not question you." Loki said, handing Astrid back the sceptor. Astrid looked up to Loki with confusion.

"You're not coming?" She questioned.

"I am, I must finish things here first." Loki reassured, knowing Astrid would be against his plans for Thor and that it would be best to wait until she was gone.

"Don't be long." Astrid said before heading off to join the others following Loki. Loki watched as Astrid left before setting his trap. Thor was bound to come soon and when he did; Loki would be ready for him. It had always been an easy task to trick his brother. Thor was too trusting.

Thor ran up to Astrid in the hallway as he was coming to see them both, he saw the sceptor in her hand and frowned.

"What are you doing with that?" Thor questioned. This was the hard part for Astrid, betraying Thor for Loki.

"I'm going with him, I'm sorry." Astrid said honestly. Thor could not try to fight Astrid, he would never be able to.

"He needs to be stopped, not encouraged in this madness." Thor tried to reason.

"I lost him once Thor, I won't lose him again." Astrid said firmly, emotion showing in her eyes, Thor sighed but pulled Astrid into a one armed hug.

"Protect yourself, little sister." Thor whispered before running off towards the cell room, hoping that he could stop Loki before it was too late; essentially running straight into his trap.

**Author's note: Sorry if some of the dialog is wrong, I really hate quoting the movie but I also don't like changing it too much. You've all seen the movie so you all know how it goes, this is just with Astrid thrown into the mix. Anyway, hope you liked it and please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's note: Hey all, first off; thanks everyone for the ongoing support and Loki-love. I know we don't really see Loki in the movie until he meets up with the Avengers for the final show down. So I'm pretty much making up what he does until then. In the movie it's not very long until they go fight, but I'm going to assume they all need some time to get things sorted out. Last thing; I have a Tumblr account, I'm not very good at it and pretty much just post Tom Hiddleston pictures, but if you'd like to follow me then please let me know. Please enjoy and review!**

Astrid looked around the underground bunker as Loki's lackeys ran about to finish off the portal, while some were under Loki's control, others worked for their hatred of SHIELD and hopes for great power in the "new world". The entire affair felt seedy and wrong but Astrid was loyal and would do what she had to in order to support Loki. Walking down one of the darker corridors, Astrid eventually found her way to Loki, who was meditating. She casually propped herself up against the cold strone wall and waited. Their current location reminded her of the Asgard prison, which was kept under the palace. Asgardians did not believe in killing their own kind and as they did not die from old age, being kept locked up for hundreds of years was a great punishment. It was the punishment that Astrid expected Loki would receive if he were caught and now Astrid would be facing the same fate. Astrid wondered if Odin might punish them in a way similar to Thor, remove their powers and send them to Earth. Loki's magic was a great part of him and Astrid knew without it he would be very lost. At least whatever punishment they were given would be faced together. Astrid bit her lip hard in self punishment as she realised she should be staying positive instead of thinking of their capture. Loki had an entire army to fight for him, Earth only had a small group of talented men to fight for it. Loki was sure to win.

"You know, it's rude to stare." Loki said with a smile, Astrid had not realised that she had been staring at Loki the entire time.

"Sorry, did I disturb your meditation?" Astrid asked.

"I wasn't meditating. I was talking with one of the leaders of the Chitauri." Loki responded as he stood up. Astrid looked over curiously.

"I didn't know you could do that..." Astrid replied, stepping closer.

"A new trick. I can send my image anywhere I want and speak through it as if I were there." Loki explained proudly, magic was one thing that always impressed Astrid. He quickly dropped the smile from his face as Astrid's eyebrows furrowed.

"What's wrong?" Loki asked quickly.

"If you could do that, why did you never use it to contact me? To let me know you were alive." Astrid said seriously, she could have been spared so much worry if he had made the effort. Loki frowned as he reconised the look on Astrid's face as disappointment.

"I wanted to, I assure you that I did. Everyday I thought of you. I was constantly tempted to go to you. But everytime I got close to speaking with you, I reminded myself of my failures. I did not feel worthy of your presence, and so I would hold off each time." Loki tried to explain, he had always felt a lack of grace when Astrid looked at him the way she was now.

"You know you're always worthy of me, I have told you this." Astrid said quietly, understanding Loki's view but still feeling hurt. Loki moved closer and took hold of her shoulders.

"I know my love, but at the time I was in a very low place. I wanted to return to the rank of king before seeing you." Loki said seriously.

"But you are a king." Astrid replied.

"Not yet." Loki said with a smile.

"You are to me." Astrid whispered before placing a soft and forgiving kiss on Loki's lips.

Elsewhere, Thor walked into the meeting room for the Helicarrier, to a new face and some faces missing. Steve Rogers looked up from his seat with a small smile.

"Good to see we didn't lose you too." Steve said.

"Who else is lost to us?" Thor asked as he shook the hand of Clint Barton.

"Well Bruce is missing after the Hulk jumped off the Helicarrier to attack a jet. You and Astrid went missing and Phil Coulson is dead." Natasha explained, hiding her emotions. Thor frowned as he remembered seeing Coulson's lifeless body after entering the cell room.

"He was a good man." Thor said seriously, placing his fist of his heart in a moment's silence.

"Was Astrid with you? Where is she?" Steve questioned, noticing her lack of appearance.

"It pains me to tell you that Astrid has joined Loki." Thor said, looking at his feet.

"Doesn't surprise me. Lovers don't really fight each other, unless they're into that sort of thing." Tony said in his usual manner.

"She never did act like part of our team." Natasha added. Thor growled.

"Astrid has a good heart, if you had all made an effort to accept her than she might not have left." Thor said protectively.

"Thor, I understand that this entire situation is difficult to you, given your relationship with Loki and now Astrid. But we have to stop them, a lot of lives are in danger." Nick Fury said seriously, trying to difuse another fight before it happened. Thor bowed his head in understanding.

"Do we have any news on Banner?" Tony asked, showing his more sensitive side.

"We're doing all we can to find him, don't worry." Fury said seriously.

"He dropped out of the sky and you think we should just accept that?" Tony said angrily.

"He didn't drop out of the sky, the Hulk did. The Hulk can survive anything. Right now Banner's biggest problem would be finding a new pair of pants." Fury replied, setting Tony's anger off as he walked out to get some space.

"I'll go after him." Steve said, going after the billionare genius. Fury went off to speak with the council while the others were left waiting. Not much time had passed before Steve returned.

"Tony knows where he is."


	11. Chapter 11

"Ready sweetheart?" Loki asked as Astrid stood on the balcony of Stark tower. The finishing touches were being done on the portal and soon Loki's personal army would be on Earth's doorstep to wreak havoc. Astrid felt very conflicted, this planet did have bad people on it but it also had good who did not deserve what was coming. She looked up to Loki and forced a smile.

"Do you remember when we were children, there was that old overgrown garden we used to sneak off to?" Astrid asked as she looked over to Loki. She could tell he was nervous, he looked a lot like he did on the day that was meant to be Thor's coronation. Putting up a strong front for everyone, but Astrid could see through it. She could see his lack of sleep, his unease and while carefully hidden; his fear.

"I remember it well, for a long time it was our paradise. A place to go when everything seemed too hard, just the two of us. You would sit with me for hours when the burden of my position was too much for me, I'm very thankful for you doing that. I will confess there were times I wished I had stolen more than just your time in that garden." Loki said with a smile, remembering the days when he had sat wondering what Astrid's lips tasted like. Those were days when things seemed so hard but were in fact much easier than today. Astrid smiled as Loki's little confession.

"Do you remember how devastated we were when your father had the old garden completely torn out to build a new courtyard?" Astrid asked as she stood up straighter to face Loki.

"I do. We had no luck finding a new private place after that until we were adults, and by that time we were too old to be sneaking around to escape our duties. Why do you bring it up now?" Loki asked as he recalled their memories together.

"I was just thinking; when your army destroys this city, where will the humans go? That old garden may not have looked like much, but it was our safe place and felt a lot like home. This city is home to so many and soon it will be taken away too." Astrid said sadly. Loki took a step closer.

"You're having second thoughts?" He asked seriously. While he wanted Astrid by his side, he would not push her to do something she did not want to do as it might damage her feelings for him.

"I'm not going anywhere." Astrid said with a smile and placed a hand on his chest in reassurance.

"You just wish there was an easier way?" Loki asked, seeing that the upcoming battle was playing on her mind.

"Something like that, yes." Astrid answered honestly, not fully understanding it herself.

"Well, if all goes to plan the Chitauri will be doing the fighting, not us." Loki said, trying to ease Astrid's worry.

"Somehow I think the others will keep the plan from going that way. We will have to get our hands dirty." Astrid said as she took Loki's hand and lead him inside.

"I do suppose that's true, but believe me my pet, we have nothing to fear." Loki said with confidence, Astrid smiled as she wished for that to be true. Her own insecurities were put on hold as she looked out to see none other than Iron Man landing down outside.

"And so it begins." She said quietly and indicated over for Loki to see.

"Can you sense the others around?" Loki questioned quickly as he placed a hand protectively against Astrid's back.

"It's just him for now." Astrid answered.

"Then perhaps you best make yourself scarce and let me handle him." Loki said, he was used to cunning tricks and knew that if Stark was smart he might try to hurt Loki by hurting Astrid. She was powerful but she was also his greatest weakness. Astrid placed a soft kiss on Loki's cheek.

"If he tries to fight then I shall go but without his armor he is no threat." Astrid said, staying by Loki as Tony walked in.

"Let me guess, you're going to appeal to my sense of humanity?" Loki asked as his proud and powerful mask showed. Astrid had developed her own air of power as she stood tall by Loki's side.

"Actually I'm going to threaten you." Tony said as he walked down to the bar.

"You should have left your armor on for that." Loki replied with a smirk.

"Yeah well it's seen some milage and you've got that little glowstick of destiny." Tony replied. "Want a drink?" He asked.

"Stalling won't change anything." Loki replied as he walked closer, Astrid followed from behind.

"Not stalling, threatening. No drink? You sure? I'm sure Astrid could use one. How're you doing by the way, sweetheart, miss me yet?" Tony said in his usual teasing manner, Loki's eye twitched.

"The Chitauri are coming, nothing can change that. What have we to fear?" Loki asked, glancing out the window to clear his mind.

"The Avengers. That's what we call ourselves now. You missed out girl, could have gotten a limited edition jacket with our logo on the back."

"I've met your Avengers." Loki scoffed, making Tony smirk.

"Yeah, takes us a while for us to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But let's do a headcount here; your bother the demi-god, a super soldier of legend who kind of lives up to the legend, a man with breathtaking anger management issues, a couple of master assassins. And you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them." Tony said, taking a drink.

"That was the plan." Loki said, still seeing no real threat.

"Not a great plan. When they come and they will. They'll come for you." Tony said as he moved closer.

"I have an army." Loki said, wrapping an arm around Astrid protectively as Tony moved closer.

"We have a Hulk." Tony replied.

"I thought the beast had wandered off." Loki said.

"You're missing the point. There is no throne, there is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us to handle but it's all on you; because if we can't protect the Earth you can be damn well sure that we'll avenge it." Tony said seriously before taking another drink. Loki let go of Astrid to move closer. Astrid did all that she could to keep her emotions hidden, Tony's words had hit her hard as she knew them to be true. Even if Loki won, he could never rule this planet peacefully.

"How will your friends have time for me, when they're so busy fighting you." Loki said in a low, dangerous voice as he approached Tony and pressed the sceptor to his chest. A tiny ting was heard but nothing happened. Loki looked down in confusion before trying it again, making another ting sound. "This usually works." He said.

"Well performance issues... not uncommon. Gotta say I feel bad for Astrid though-" Tony was quickly cut off as Loki grabbed him by the throat and threw him to the ground.

"Anytime now Jarvis." Tony said to the ground, Astrid tilted her head. Loki grabbed Tony once more in anger.

"You will all fall before me." Loki said as rage took over.

"Deploy!" Tony shouted as Loki threw him out the window. A large case opened as something red and gold shot out past Loki. Astrid moved over to Loki by the window to look at Iron Man flew up.

"And there's one other person you pissed off. His name was Phil." Tony said, Loki raised his sceptor but Tony beat him to it before shooting him back. Loki fell down to the ground as Astrid rushed to him and looked up to Tony.

"Bastard!" She shouted out angrily.

"No hard feelings, darling." Tony said as he shot out another round and knocked Astrid back. Before he could continue his assault the portal opened and gave Tony something else to worry about; the army had arrived.

**Author's note: Hey all, this story and my other will be coming to an end soon (maybe) and I've been thinking about what to write next. I think I need a break from Avengers fics. I love writing Avengers fics and could easily see myself writing more Loki or Banner fics, but it's all I've written and I'm losing motivation. I don't want my love of Avengers to fade so I will write something different next and eventually return to them. My next story will most likely be a Harry Potter based fic and I'm leaning towards a Snape x OC fic, I'd like the opinions of people who would read this. I can't decide if I want to create an OC that will go undercover as a student (to tutor and protect Harry) or a DADA teacher. I will say the OC will be older, say mid twenties, even if she is a student. But I had the idea that if she was undercover as a student, she would be very lonely and seek company of adults that actually know her real identity. Anyway, please let me know and please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Sorry everyone for the continued delays in updating. I won't go too much into it but I've been having more medical issues to deal with. While it's not life threatening, sometimes these things really take a lot out of you. I thought that everything was taken care of but found out there is still more and it's tiring and a little depressing. Anyway, back to the story. Please review and I hope you enjoy!**

Loki picked himself up and growled out in anger over being knocked down by Stark, he looked over to see Astrid down and quickly made his way over to her. She was alright but knowing Stark had attacked Astrid only caused his rage to build.

"He'll pay for this." Loki swore as he pulled Astrid close to him.

"I'm fine, you need to keep your head clear for this. The others will be coming." Astrid soothed, she couldn't have Loki going off after Tony when the others would all be after him. Loki looked down to Astrid and sighed as he realised what had to happen.

"You're right but you have to do something for me." Loki said seriously.

"Anything, as always." Astrid replied, wondering what it was Loki could need when the war was already starting.

"Stay here." Loki said in a quiet tone, knowing what would come.

"What?! How can you expect me to stay, there are six of them all coming for you, I have to protect you!" Astrid snapped, she couldn't stand idly by and let Loki fight alone.

"This is different to the other battles Astrid, back then when we all fought; it was against nameless faces. Now we face the Avengers and they are after me. They know I love you and so they will target you. I'd want to protect you instead of myself, it would be a distraction. I would be more level headed if I knew you were here, staying out of sight and staying safe." Loki explained quickly, guessing the others would be arriving soon. Astrid showed her displeasure at the situation but agreed. While she wanted to fight by Loki's side, she did not want Loki getting hurt because he was busy focusing on her instead of the fight.

"Fine, but you are to come back to me alive Loki, do you hear me?" Astrid whispered as she leaned up to kiss Loki.

"Stay hidden." Loki commanded before walking out to the balcony. Astrid watched from the window as Loki transfigured his clothing into his gold battlegear. She couldn't help but smile when she saw his horns back in place atop his head. Her small calming moment was broken as the loud thud of Thor hit her ears.

"Loki!" His shout could be heard from inside as Astrid used her magic to hide herself and move closer to watch. The brothers exchanged words but Astrid could not hear, she wanted to go out to prevent the two from clashing but had promised to stay inside and to avoid getting hurt. Astrid also knew that not even she could stop the private war between the brothers. They had always competed but since Loki took over the throne back in Asgard, their rivalry had grown immensely. Loki leaped down from his higher ground and launched himself at Thor. Astrid watched, feeling conflicted as the brothers fought but ultimately supporting Loki. She remembered Thor telling her about the fight they had at the Bifrost. If Thor could pin Loki down with his hammer again, perhaps this war could be ended. It would not be so simple.

Thor and Loki exhanged blows, struggling for power of the other. Thor grabbed Loki and forced him to face the city, Chitauri attacking the buildings and people.

"Look at this, look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?! You think Astrid wants this?!" Thor shouted, trying to knock some sense into Loki. Loki looked up to Thor, emotion showing in his eyes.

"It's too late! It's too late to stop it..." Loki replied, looking around the city.

"No, we can; together." Thor said, believing he had finally reached Loki. Loki looked up to Thor for a moment before smiling wickedly, driving a dagger into Thor's side. Thor fell to the ground slowly.

"Sentiment." Loki whispered in a deadly tone. Thor pushed past the pain, grabbing Loki and throwing him through the closest window. He picked Loki up and dropped him back onto the balcony in anger. He was tired of Loki's games. Loki knew Thor would continue to fight and try to change his mind, Loki would not let that happen as he rolled from the balcony and fell down onto a Chitauri's flyer. He knew Thor would never hurt Astrid and so it was safe to leave. Thor pulled the dagger from his side and looked around. Astrid approached slowly and placed a hand on Thor's shoulder. Thor reacted as any warrior would, by grabbing Astrid by the neck. Upon seeing Astrid's face he immediately released her.

"I'm sorry." Thor quickly appologised.

"Let me heal that." Astrid said, looking at the small cut in Thor's armor.

"You're not on the side of the Avengers, should you be offering me help?" Thor questioned, his mood effected by Loki's deceit. Astrid gently healed over the small wound, it was not deep enough to do much damage.

"No matter what side I am on, I will never let you suffer Thor." Astrid said sincerely.

"Why are you not out in battle?" Thor asked as he relaxed, the wound no longer hurting.

"Loki wants me here, where I'm safe. He does not want the Avengers to target me in order to hurt him." Astrid explained. Thor laughed.

"Only Loki would manipulate in such a way." Thor replied, Astrid gave him a look to stop his laughter.

"You never know, the Avengers may be fighting for Earth but they aren't all kind hearted. Black Widow is an assassin after all, who once worked for the wrong kind of people." Astrid replied, still holding a grudge against Natasha Romanoff.

"Perhaps. I must return to the battle, you stay safe, little sister." Thor said with a soft smile.

"How can I not stay safe when I've got both you and Loki looking out for me? I doubt you two would ever see eye to eye, but I know you'd both protect me." Astrid said seriously. Thor placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I would protect you both. That's what a family does." Thor replied before swinging his hammer and taking off into the sky. Astrid watched sadly as the battle raged, asking herself; when would it all end?

**Author's note: Back again, just a little note. I have no idea what those little flying things the Chitauri ride, but I think they are called flyers. If they aren't, please overlook the name. And if you happen to know what they are actually called, please let me know.**


	13. Chapter 13

Astrid stood on the balcony and watched as the war raged on throughout the city. Her hands were clenched tight; she had always hated war. But this war was different, this was Loki's war. Her stomach twisted just enough to make her uncomfortable. Astrid was so used to battle, it was typically the old Asgard group going off to fight some nasty threat. Now she was on the side of the nasty threat. Sif and the boys were not there to support her. Thor was on the other side and off fighting against the Chitauri. Loki was not beside her, casually throwing her a playful smirk after killing an enemy. How times had changed.

When Astrid first discovered Loki was alive and swore she would reunite with him; she believed she could handle anything. Astrid was a darker form of her old self and held so much hatred inside. Being with Loki again helped her slowly release that hatred and return to her old self. Astrid thought she could handle this war, but she was wrong. Everything about it felt wrong. She could hear faint screams of horror from the humans trapped in buildings, she could see large blasts rippling through cars and windows. This was not how things were supposed to be. Astrid had kept a strong barrier between herself and the rest of the universe until now, but she could no longer stand the heartbreak of seeing so much destruction. She understood that Loki needed to prove himself, but this was the wrong way to do it. With a soft sigh, Astrid returned inside and walked the halls of the large tower until she found what she could assume was a utility closet. Sinking down to her knees, Astrid let out the tears that had been held back. Tears of pain; for the memory of losing Loki, tears of sympathy; for those suffering at his hands now, tears of regret; for not putting a stop to all this when she had the chance.

Loki flew through the sky, commanding his army to do his bidding. The Avengers were holding up well so far, but that had been expected. The army was large and would eventually wear down Earth's mightiest heroes. Loki smiled as he watched his army wreak havoc on the city, he had no idea that his downfall was upon him. Loki sensed it coming from a mile away, reaching out elegantly; Loki grabbed the arrow before it hit. He smirked, wondering how Hawkeye could be so foolish as to think an arrow would end him. Before he could drop the arrow however, it blew up in his face. Loki fell down onto a nearby balcony with a thud. At first, Loki believed his landing location came with luck; Stark Tower. He was angry at having been taken down by such a pathetic excuse for a hero but landing where he did gave him the opportunity to check in on Astrid. Loki got up from his place on the ground, only to hear a loud roar. He looked up in time to be tackled into the building by the Hulk, Loki hit the wall hard and fell once more to the ground. The green beast that had meant to put a stop to the Avengers if Loki's original plan had taken effect was now causing him more trouble. Loki was viciously angry. Hulk slammed his fists into the ground like a great ape and Loki stood tall.

"Enough! You are all of you beneath me. I am a god, you dull creature! And I will not be bullied by-" Loki shouted out in a heated rage, he was unable to finish his scolding as Hulk grabbed his legs out from beneath him. Loki's body went limp as it was thrown into the floor over and over again. Hulk finally let go of the broken down god once his anger had cooled.

"Puny god." Was all Hulk needed to say as he walked away in order to return to the soon to end battle.

Elsewhere, Astrid heard a lot of loud crashing sounds coming from the floor above her. She wondered briefly if the Chitauri were doing damage to the building before coming to the conclusion that they would not risk damaging the building that held the portal. Astrid hid herself with invisibility before seeking out the cause.

Loki laid silently in the crushed floor and rubble, he knew that he was done. His plan had failed, the Avengers would win soon and the leader of the Chitauri would be after him. Loki silently wondered if he could face death with his head held high. He vaguely remembered the leader promising a punishment so deadly that pain itself would be a great relief. Then one nagging little thought hit Loki and he knew he could not give up so easily; what was more painful than pain itself? Astrid. They would target her to punish Loki. They would hurt her so badly that he would long to face whatever torture they could dish out if it meant her safety. Loki was in pain and his body was physically drained but he had to try, he sat up slowly despite his body refusing to work for him. Loki had just forced himself up when he felt a weight pushing him down. He struggled for a moment only to hear the sweetest voice he knew.

"Stop. Don't push yourself. It's over my love." Astrid whispered as she showed herself, her hand on Loki's chest. Loki looked as if panic had struck him, it was not like him at all.

"We have to go, we have to get you out of here." Loki said quickly, his eyes pleading with her. Astrid was confused but assumed it was only the shock of being so badly beaten.

"You're not going anywhere." Came another familiar voice. The lovers looked over to see the Avengers assembled before them.

"It's time to go home Loki." Thor said seriously, they had all had enough fighting.

"You don't understand, the leader will be coming. He'll kill her. Brother, please." Loki said, showing true emotion. Thor was unsure if he could trust Loki's words, Loki had always used emotions against Thor.

"I thought you were the leader of those creatures. You're just trying to talk your way out of it." Tony joined in, saying what everyone was thinking.

"I was merely using the army, the leader promised revenge if I should fail. He knows my greatest weakness." Loki said truthfully, no longer knowing how to show an honest face after so much time wearing a mask.

"Your greatest weakness, why should we care if you get yourself killed?" Barton said, his own anger coming out.

"My greatest weakness isn't on myself, it's-" Loki tried to explain, starting to look frantic. It all clicked into place for Astrid. Loki would not call Thor brother, nor would he show weakness or vulnerability.

"Me. They're going to come after me to punish you." Astrid said, putting it all together. She looked up to Thor.

"We're taking you home, both of you." Thor said, knowing Astrid would be well protected on Asgard.

"It will be ok, we'll be together." Astrid said quietly for Loki's benefit, he needed to relax, needed to be ensured that she would be safe. Loki looked up to Astrid and sighed, it was all over. He would be going home. He carefully took her hand and looked over to Thor. He hated his brother with a passion but knew that Thor would protect Astrid as well as Loki could.

"Together."

**Author's note: Ah, the story is almost over! Just one chapter to go. Don't worry, I think I will be bringing Astrid back in the future. I will be taking a break for a while though. Next stories I want to work on will be Sherlock (BBC's Sherlock) and Harry Potter. Anyway, please review and I hope you enjoyed!**


	14. Chapter 14

Astrid stood silently at Loki's side, her cape flowed just enough to show a soft breeze in the air. It was the day after the battle in New York, the Avengers were all planning to go their own ways once the Asgardians had left. Loki kept his head down, his pride was stripped away from him with the loss of his war and the now degrading mouthguard in place. Astrid gently touched his arm to show her support. They would not show too much vulnerability infront of the others but the small gesture was enough to mean something to Loki. It hurt her seeing him locked up like a criminal when Thor had let Astrid walk free. Thor's decision was an easy one to explain; Astrid would not leave Loki for her own freedom.

"Astrid?" Came the unexpected voice of Natasha Romanoff. Astrid raised an eyebrow, what could the Black Widow possibly want her for? Astrid straightened her shoulders.

"Hmm?" Was Astrid's response, cold and dismissive. After everything that had gone down, she had no intention of showing Romanoff any common courtasies.

"I wanted to apologise." Natasha said, it sounded uncomfortable but honest so Astrid looked over enough to show she was paying attention. "Thor said you were a good person and that we all made you feel unwelcome with us. Love isn't something anyone can control. I shouldn't have said the things I did to you just because you love him." Natasha said quietly, not too happy to apologise to Astrid with Loki staring her down. Astrid forced a polite nod, assuming that the apology was simply to wrap everything up before she left.

"Thank you, I appreciate it." Astrid replied.

"_No you don't_." Came the warm, powerful voice of Loki into Astrid's head. She smiled and looked back to him.

"_No, but I don't want to drag the conversation on with her anymore_." Astrid replied through their mental link. Loki kept the link between them open but said nothing more, Astrid wondered if he was keeping the link for the sake of comfort. A few minutes passed as they watched the others talking amongst themselves.

"_Are you worried about going back?" _Astrid asked carefully, knowing it was a sensitive topic. Another long pause and Astrid believed she'd pushed the conversation too far.

"_I must return for your sake. But I do worry. To punish Thor; Odin removed Thor's powers and sent him to Earth. He essentially removed the thing Thor was most proud of and sent him away from all that he loved_." Loki responded after a while to think.

"_So you think he'll take away your powers too_?" Astrid questioned.

"_No. I fear he will take you away from me as you are what I am most proud of. You are the one I love most_." Loki answered before looking down into Astrid's eyes to show his emotions. Astrid gently took his hand.

"_He won't_." Was all Astrid could reply with. It made sense, to keep them apart would be punishment for them both. All Astrid could do was wait and pray for Odin to be kind and Odin had never been overly kind in the past. The time began to go by far too slowly for Astrid, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other as impatience set in. Part of her wanted to stay standing with Loki forever and another part wanted to know what would happen to them. Astrid let out a loud sigh when Thor finally made his way back to them.

"Time to go." Thor announced as he passed Loki the other side of the small containment box. Astrid understood the action and took hold of Loki's arm as Bruce Banner carefully sat the Tesseract into the box and shut it off.

"All set." Bruce said as he stepped back. Thor and Loki exchanged one last look before activating the Tesseract and flying off through the portal with Astrid attached. Astrid landed down with the boys out on what was left of the Rainbow Bridge. It was safer to aim for less populated areas and Astrid believe Thor choose it for sentimental reasons. Loki left them on the very same bridge he was returning to. The cooler climate hit Astrid's skin as she looked to the large palace not too far from them. It felt like an eternity since she had been there and knew for Loki, it would feel even longer.

"Mother and father will be wanting to see us." Thor said, careful to not direct his words specifically at Loki. While Thor was oblivious to some things; Loki had made it painfully clear that he was still not willing to accept Frigga and Odin as his parents, at least not yet. Thor suspected that Frigga would earn her way back into Loki's heart fairly quickly, Odin might take a while. The bond between father and son was severely damaged. Astrid gave Loki's hand a gentle, reaffirming squeeze.

Loki looked at the large palace as memories came flooding back. He had been avoiding those memories, running from them. But now he had no choice but to face them and more. Would Astrid be taken from him? He knew Odin all too well now and knew it was highly possible. Perhaps Thor would try to protect Astrid and say she assisted in bringing Loki back. But Loki knew that even if Thor tried that, Odin would find out eventually. What punishment awaited Astrid? Would Odin be kinder or harsher to her? Loki pushed his fears back down into his mind, it was time to face what he had been running from.

Loki merely had to look down into Astrid's eyes for the two to share all that was on their minds, they did not use magic this time, only understanding. Together, the three of them made their way to face whatever was to come.

The end.

**Author's note: Thanks for reading everyone! I did not include the punishment in this story as we won't find out what actually happened to Loki until Thor 2. When it comes out I will most likely want to write a third installment of Astrid. Until then, please check out my other stories and I hope you enjoyed reading. Thank you for all the support you have given! x**


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